Above the side aisles are galleries extending to the transepts.
The decorations of mosaic, glass, and mural painting have been the work of the foremost artists of modern times, and have been long in execution.
The entire period of construction extended practically over the last half of the nineteenth century.
The plans were by Léon Vaudoyer, who was succeeded by one Espérandieu, and again by Henri Rêvoil. The entire detail work may not even yet be presumed to have been completed, but still the cathedral stands to-day as the one distinct and complete achievement of its class within the memory of living man.
The pillars of the nave, so great is their number and so just and true their disposition, form a really decorative effect in themselves.
The choir is very long and is terminated with a domed apse, with domed chapels radiating therefrom in a symmetrical and beautiful manner.
The episcopal residence is immediately to the right of the cathedral, on the Place de la Major.
Marseilles has been the seat of a bishop since the days of St. Lazare in the first century. It was formerly a suffragan of Arles in the Province d'Arles, as it is to-day, but its jurisdiction is confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the city.
IX
ST. PIERRE D'ALET
In St. Pierre d'Alet was a former cathedral of a very early date; perhaps as early as the ninth century, though the edifice was entirely rebuilt in the eleventh. To-day, even this structure—which is not to be wondered at—is in ruins.